Seeing a Base for the First Time

This last friday, I finally got enrolled in Tricare and got my military ID. It was a two week process of me harassing my husbands recruiter and it was a pain in the butt. Eventually, the recruiter called and we set a time to head up to the closest base, Fairchild Airforce Base.

Now, I have absolutly no background with the military so my first time on a base was, of course, a topic of interest for me. I didn't know if I should expect huge walls with armed men patroling the edges. I was also expecting the car to be searched; security was a big deal as far as I knew.

We drove up the "gate" and the recruiter flashed his military ID and the guy in camo just waved us on through. I am assuming its because we were in a military car, but I could be wrong. Maybe the guard just knew the recruiter.

Then we are on the base. And it looks like a town. A normal, busy town. There were sections of housing and then building with signs for various purposes. No scowling men with menacing guns. It felt like suburbia to be honest.

So we wound our way through the buildings to the one that was specifically for getting your military ID's. Walked in, put my name on a waiting list (like the DMV) and waited until we were taken to a cubicle. Very organized. The man behind the desk looked over my documents, took my picture, and handed me my ID right then and there. It wasn't a hassle at all.

Then we drove over to the base hospital. Not much of a hospital in my opinion, but I doubt they are doiong much brain surgery there. We were sent to an office specifically for Tricare where a very nice man got to work right away on enrolling me.

Overall, a very hassle free and pleasant experience. The hardest part was probably waiting in line for the ID, but even that wasn't so bad since there was a TV playing the news.

The base, overall, was very simple. Sprawling and busy. Not very well organized in my opinion, but I am OCD and lack of symmetry bothers me. The houses didn't look very nice, but the recruiter says thats just Fairchild AFB. He said that Pendleton has the nicest base housing out of everywhere that he has been.

I bet the waiting list for base housing is enormous at Pendleton. Its a shame you can't get on the housing lists until your husband/wife is stationed there.

So, if you are wondering what a base is like, its pretty normal. At least as far as I saw. The only difference between a town and a base is the workers are wearing camo uniforms instead of business suits. And the giant fence surrounding the base.

More Pneumonia News

Yesterday I got three letters from Danny at once. One of the best feelings in the world, sort of like winning the lottery, only better. I think the mailman is afraid of me though. Yesterday, so was moving at a snails pace so I marched outside and stared him down while tapping my foot. Then when he went to hand me the letters, I snatched them out of his hand like I starving man reaching for food. If he hadn't let go, I am pretty sure he would have lot that hand.

The letters were pretty typical. Lots of "I love you" and "I want to be home with you". I was crying as hard as I ever have. You would think he was never coming home with my reaction. What can I say though; I am almost 8 months pregnant.

He also said that he will be in MRP for two weeks probably. He said he will be graduating with Golf Company on July 27th. But that doesn't make any sense. According the the MCRD San Diego website, Golf Company graduates on July 20th, while Kilo Company graduates on July 27th. So I think my husband is confused about half of his information. Unless the website just hasn't been updated in a long time. I am more inclined to think that my husband has his information wrong.

**Update on PoA**

Still no resolution. Recruiters were left a very upset and blunt voicemail by my sister (posing to be me, because I suck at being openly hostile). She basically ripped the recrutier a new a-hole. She was also slightly threatening, which was immensely amusing. She is 5'3" and weighs 110 lbs. Like a chihuaha attacking a doberman. Recruiter called back saying that nothing had changed but he has a lead that would hopefully turn up the paperwork.

I Dont Have Much Faith in Recruiters

Before my husband left for San Diego, he filled out a power of attorney, a document which allows me to fill out paperwork on his behalf. Very important to have if you are trying to enroll in Tricare. For those who don't know, Tricare is the insurance of the military.

Anyways, he filled one out the day he left for San Diego. We had it notarized by a family friend and gave it to Danny's recruiter. I must have had a lapse in sanity; why on earth did I let that paper out of my sight? The recruiters are not very reliable.

This wasn't the first time we have had trouble with one.

Danny's first recruiter (who was reassigned I think...) was incapable of keeping track of time. I can think of five different instances where we had to call him to remind him of meetings we had scheduled. He was a nice guy, just didn't seem to be very focused on his job.

The second guy is also very nice! He is very helpful and hasn't really messed up. The problem is that he doesn't seem to know what the heck is going on with the PoA. He says that I should have it. Which made me a little bit upset. The last time I saw it was as Danny was walking into the recruiters office to leave for MEPS.

So that means that either the recruiters have it and misplaced it or its lost at MEPS. Either way, I am very upset. It was a lot of work to get that PoA signed and notarized. How could they just lose it?

Not just lose it, but make no efforts to correct the situation. Come on guys, I am seven months pregnant. I really need insurance! They have been trying to figure this out for a week and still nothing. If I dont hear from them by monday morning(tomorrow) I am going to the office and demanding that they fix this. I dont know how they are going to do it.

I hope it doesn't come down to having to call San Diego and have danny sign the form again and fax it up here. I doubt that would look good to the DI's.

So my recommendation: Dont trust the recruiters to keep track of anything. Dont leave any important papers with them (anything!) and make sure you keep them aware.

OR maybe I am just unlucky. Maybe most recruiters rock and have superb track records and I got the irresponsible ones.

*sigh*

Finally!

I finally got Danny's address today. I waited until about 9:30 before I called his recruiter and said "GIVE ME THE ADDRESS!!!" Okay, I wasnt that aggressive, but I very nicely said that I was told to call today for the official address where I could start sending letters.

So the recruiter posted the address on my facebook wall, which was very convenient. That way I could "tag" his mother, sister, father, etc instead of having to call each of them and try to describe the very long and complicated address.

So immedietly wrote it on the envelope that I already had a stamp on in preparation and rushed to the nearest letterbox. I cant wait for him to get the letters (3) as well as the ultrasound picture of the baby sucking his thumb. Its a pretty thick envelope.

So I guess the lesson learned is that I have to stop worrying so much. I am 90% sure that the Marine Corp aren't going to let Danny die or get hurt, so I need to sit down and shut up. I won't be able to bully them into giving me contact with him so I should just learn to be patient as they work stuff out on their end.

I have to remind myself that nobody is out to get us. No one is intentionally trying to keep me in the dark or make me sick with worry. The Marine Corp is a huge organization(?) and they probably have bigger fish to fry then me being upset about a phone call or wanting the husbands address as soon as he gets there.

So I guess the REAL lesson is that I need to stop thinking that I have any control for the next four years, minimum. I will live where they tell me to live, wait when I have to wait, and celebrate when they give me something to celebrate.

Furious

I am in a spot between absolute fury and worry.

Danny left yesterday afternoon for San Diego and arrived late last night, if all went according to plan. He was supposed to arrive, stand on the yellow footprints and be marched to a bank of phones in order to call me and let me know he was there safe.

But I did not recieve a phone call last night. Neither did his mom or even my parents. No one has heard from him. I just called the recruiters office to see if this was normal. Even they sounded confused. And Danny knew I wanted a phone call. Planes freak me out.

So, there are two options at this point.

1. Danny is NOT okay. Something is wrong!
2. Danny is an asshole who didn't stop to think about his choice to NOT call me.

If he had a chance to call me, but chose not to, I hope the recruiter calls his D.I. in San Deigo. I hope he gets REAMED! How dare he leave me wondering all night long (yes, I stayed up).

Either way, something is up and I am not pleased.

On a side note, the recruiter also said that I probably wont get his mailing address until the end of the week. I can't even write a letter to yell at him.

Marine Corp News

Another gift from God; Danny's ship date for Basic has been moved up from May 9th to April 7th.

That means that Danny will be here for the birth (estimated to be July 19). Otherwise, he wouldnt have been here until about two weeks after the baby was born.

The day after we went to the ER, Danny went into the recruiter to tell them what was going on. They immedietly got to work changing his ship date and even trying to get him two extra weeks of Recruiters Assistance, so he could hang around in case I am overdue.

Turns out they couldn't get the RA, but he would have gotten 10 days of Paternity Leave, as long as he was out of basic.

So he is going to be home for the birth! BUT...that means that I will be traveling from WA to CA in my ninth month of pregnancy; I have a feeling that will suck. I am not willing, however, to miss seeing him graduate into a Marine.

I will have more updates soon. The first OB appt is on April 2nd where we will get more info about baby!

Hilary signing off!

Nightmares

I have been having a bad couple of days, sleep-wise. I have been having some pretty intense nightmares, the most awful of which woke me up in the middle of night, sobbing like a kid. Poor husband was really freaked out when I startled him awake as I searched for him in the blankets.

The dream itself wasnt gruesome or anything. I dreamt that it was maybe 10 years in the future. I had three kids, all watching TV in the living room when the doorbell rings and I open the front door to find a man in uniform telling me that my husband has died.

I'm sure the experience is different in real life, but it shook me to the core. I havent really felt like doing anything the last few days, least of all write. I have spent it getting myself together and talking my crazy side out of telling Danny he cant join the Marines.

On a happier note I went to Home Depot yesterday and picked up the seeds im going to plant this year as well as a raspberry shoot. So my garden this year will have stawberries, broccoli, pumpkins, watermelons, AND hopefully some raspberries. I also finally have found a pair of gardening gloves that actually fit me. My future brother in law picked up some corn that he plans on planting, but I dont really see that happening since he has made no effort to help me clear the garden.

OH! Hold on. His recruiters, who we have had nothing but issues with, has gone and changed the day for PT from mondays to saturdays. WTH! There is no way that Danny is going to be able to get saturdays off from work. Just frustrating because they made such a big deal about danny getting mondays off from work. GRRR

Thinking About Plans that Should be Made

I have a problem that has no easy fix. I need to make plans, but doing so feels naughty. I am trying to find a job, so as to support myself during the husbands bootcamp, but doing so basically requires me to lie about how long I intend to work there. I cant exactly walk into an interview and say "Well, I really need this job now, but I might be leaving in three-ish months."

Who in their right mind would pay to hire and train someone who wont return on the investment? Is this same issue going to crop up wherever we go in the next four or eight years? If so, what is the point of getting a college degree in something when a potential employer is just going to look at my application/resume and see tons of jobs/locations?

So how do the fully initated military spouses handle this? At this point, I consider myself in pre-school (pre-basic/post-enlistment). I wish there was a website specifically for experienced women or men to offer advice and information to spouses who are blindly being thrown into this lifestyle. No one in my family was or is a soldier, so I have NO idea how to handle this stuff. I have seen dozens of responses on yahoo answers for "what to expect" but none of them really seem helpful.

Maybe it really IS an initation type of thing! Maybe once my husband graduates all of the marine spouses will kidnap me out of my bed and make me endure some sort of alcohol related hazing (wouldn't mind that) and then they will finally tell me what the hell I am supposed to be doing.

Does anyone think it would be inappropriate to go and harass my husbands recruiter? I mean, if I bother them for long enough, wont they tell me whats up if only to get rid of me? I would...